Question/Issue
I applied DRM to HLS content for Apple devices using DoveRunner’s Wowza DRM plugin. Even though DRM license integration is implemented on the client, why does the content fail to play?
Short Description
If VOD or live HLS content packaged through Wowza Streaming Engine does not play, it may be due to one of the following causes.
FPS certificate not registered
FairPlay Streaming (FPS) DRM must be applied to DRM content in the “Apple HLS” format.
To issue an FPS license, you must register an FPS certificate in the DoveRunner Console. Before the certificate is registered, FPS HLS content cannot be played. This applies to all FPS content, not only content packaged with Wowza.
Wowza session ID issue
Wowza Streaming Engine appends a streaming session ID to the encryption-related URI value in the HLS chunklist by default. (Example: skd://content-key-id?wowzasessionid=30273096)
If a session ID is appended to the skd URI as shown above, FairPlay DRM integration can fail and HLS playback will not work.
Key rotation related issues
When packaging live content using Wowza, key rotation can be enabled by setting the KeyRotation value to True in the Application Property.
If key rotation is enabled in Wowza settings, content playback will fail unless the site is subscribed to a key-rotation plan and the key-rotation option is set in the DRM license request token.
Resolution
Depending on the cause, you can resolve the issue as follows.
Register an FPS certificate
To generate an FPS certificate, you must first obtain approval from Apple for FairPlay Streaming credentials.
For details on certificate creation and registration, refer to this guide.
Remove the Wowza session ID
For DoveRunner FairPlay integration, you must change the Wowza settings so that a session ID is not appended to the skd URI value. Refer to the Wowza guide and set the cupertinoAppendQueryParamsToEncUrl property to false.
Apply or disable key rotation
In the Application Property examples provided in the Wowza integration guide, key rotation is disabled by default. If you want to apply key rotation to a Wowza live stream, you must first contact the Help Center or your DoveRunner business representative to switch to a custom plan that includes the key rotation feature. (An additional fee is required on top of the base plan.)
In addition to the Wowza Application Property setting, you must also apply the key rotation option to the token used for the client’s DRM license request.